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Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection
Duff EP, Zetterberg H, Heslegrave A, Dehghan A, Elliott P, Allen N, Runz H, Laban R et al.. Nature medicine, 2025-01-30
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Previous studies have suggested that systemic viral infections may increase risks of dementia. Whether this holds true for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus infections is unknown. Determining this is important for anticipating the potential future incidence of dementia.
Key findings
- Whether this holds true for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus infections is unknown.
- Determining this is important for anticipating the potential future incidence of dementia.
- To begin to do this, we measured plasma biomarkers linked to Alzheimer's disease pathology in the UK Biobank before and after serology-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections.
- SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with biomarkers associated with β-amyloid pathology: reduced plasma Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio and, in more vulnerable participants, lower plasma Aβ42 and higher plasma pTau-181.
Why it matters
This case-control study measured plasma biomarkers linked to Alzheimer's disease pathology in UK Biobank participants before and after serology-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, finding changes associated with beta-amyloid pathology. It is an observational biomarker study, so it cannot show that preventing infection prevents dementia.
Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a top-tier journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Nature medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Nature Medicine: journal h-index 763 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 48 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 48 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Paul McMahan Matthews: h-index 151 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Oxford: institution h-index 2,205 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 15 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39885359) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4
- PubMed: 39885359
- Original source →
- Free full text: Nature Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Duff, E. P., Zetterberg, H., Heslegrave, A., Dehghan, A., Elliott, P., Allen, N., et al. (2025). Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nature medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4
Vancouver
Duff EP, Zetterberg H, Heslegrave A, Dehghan A, Elliott P, Allen N, et al. Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nature medicine. 2025. doi:10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4. PMID: 39885359.
BibTeX
@article{duff2025-39885359,
author = {Duff, E. P. and Zetterberg, H. and Heslegrave, A. and Dehghan, A. and Elliott, P. and Allen, N. and Runz, H. and Laban, R. and others},
title = {{Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection}},
journal = {Nature medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4},
pmid = {39885359},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4}
}
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